Dedication
This Ormsby Family section is dedicated to my cousin and dear friend, Tom Ormsby, who passed away in August 2012. Tom was a veritable sage on Ballycastle family history. Over the years he generously related a wealth of information that pervades this entire web-site. Tom will be sadly missed.
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Ormsby Families from County Mayo
Lincolnshire Origins
Burke's "A Genealogical and Heraldic history of the Landed Gentry of
Ireland" states that Henry Ormsby born c.1555 in Lincolnshire, England,
settled in Ireland during the reign of Queen Elizabeth and was the
common ancestor of the Ormsby families in Mayo, Roscommon and
Sligo. The ancestry of Henry Ormsby of Lincolnshire is well documented
and his lineage dating back to 1020 AD is displayed below. His six sons
by two different wives, settled and raised their respective families in different areas as shown in the chart below. The Killeena Ormsbys discussed here are descended from his third son, Malby Ormsby of Cloghans (near Ballina) and Gortnaraby.
Duel Dukes of Doonfeeny
Duke Ormsby is listed in Griffiths Valuation (1847-1864) as the lease holder for both Ballinglen and Killeena, two neighbouring townlands along the Ballinglen river in Doonfeeny parish, just south of Ballycastle. With such an unusual name as 'Duke Ormsby', some written sources have, understandably, jumped to the conclusion that this was one individual leasing both townlands. However, the available records reveal two different Duke Ormsby families living in the adjacent townlands. Further, family lore according to the Ormsby descendant who currently lives and farms part of the ancestral Killeena home, confirms that there were indeed two Duke Ormsbys, not closely related, but coincidently living as neighbours. The Killeena Duke Ormsby (1807-1891) was the current resident's great grandfather, and his great-great grandfather was also a Duke Ormsby (1748-1824) whose burial record in St Mary's churchyard in Crossmolina, shows that he was living in Killeena too. The lineage of the Ballinglen Duke Ormsby (1833-1903) is unknown, though it seems probable that he is descended from Malby Ormsby of Cloghans/Gortnaraby, as the Killeena Ormsbys are.
Anecdotally, the Ballinglen and Killeena Dukes share a common great grand-daughter, Helen Mary Ormsby (1918-1996) born in San Francisco, California, USA.
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Acknowledgments
Some of the Ormsby information included here is courtesy of:
Tom Ormsby (1934-2012) Louise Fletcher Ann Ormsby
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